Did Steve Wynn ever try to purchase the land where the Catholic Cathedral is located when planning the Encore?

This week’s "Sample Sunday" spotlights one of the landmark books in the Huntington Press line, Madam—Inside a Nevada Brothel by Lora Shaner, a former Sheri’s Ranch madam, a job title that’s effectively a catch-all for a combination of hostess, shift supervisor, bookkeeper, house mother, juggler, and cop.

On LVA’s recommendation, we went to dinner at Mastro’s in Crystals at CityCenter. Great meal, but the waiter asked my date if she wanted a white napkin, a black napkin, or both? What’s the reason for that?

I remember reading about the solar farm near Bakersfield some time back. How about the similar farm that is between Vegas and Laughlin? Is that the same type setup? I know it’s huge and you see it from miles away.

Anybody know why there isn't gaming in Town Square? Is there specific reasoning behind it? Zoning?? Or???

Since I know you aren’t shying away from certain subjects (e.g. the "naughtiest thing you’ve done in Vegas" poll), maybe you’ll decide to tackle this one (evil grin). In an issue last year of your LVA newsletter, I noticed that the AVN would be in Vegas 1/15-1/18. You showed prices $55-$275. Since I thought this was a porn movie-star "convention," the question comes to mind: What does this pricing cover??? Do I get "more" for my $275 than I would for my $55 fee?? Inquiring minds wanna know :) Should be a fun answer, should you guys decide to tackle this one :) Merry Christmas!!

This week’s Sample Sunday selection, My Week at the Blue Angel – And Other Stories from the Storm Drains, Strip Clubs, and Trailer Parks of Las Vegas, is representative of a number of creative non-fiction titles we’ve published over the years. The author, Matt O’Brien, is our foremost practitioner of the style, if his two Nevada Arts Council artist-fellowship grants and his Nevada Writers Hall of Fame Silver Pen Award are any indication.

This week’s Sample Sunday features fiction. The Vegas Kid by Barney Vinson is a kind of slapstick western novel starring Sam Durango and his arch rival Buck Beaumont that culminates at Blackie’s Casino on Halloween night.

I recently saw some statistics where Nevada has the highest rate of divorcing couples in the U.S. Do you think the reasons are obvious, given the lifestyle? Or are there some hidden problems that us occasional visitors might not know about?

In a recent QoD regarding safety riding the bus, you said, "....this city has some distinctly dubious neighborhoods...." Care to tell us exactly which neighborhoods we should stay away from?